Customer Reviews

Masterpieces in Miniature: Stories: The Detectives; Parker Pyne; Harley Quin, Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple

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You can't go wrong with Christie, and this book is a major find for any fan of hers. The stories in this huge volume are what enticed me to buy it. I already own six dozen Christie books, so believe me, the chapter list would have had to be REALLY exceptional for me to buy this book -- and to buy it NEW at that. Here we're given what looks like every single Parker Pyne and Harley Quinn story she ever wrote, as well as a few from Poirot and Marple. There are a total of 25 from the former two, which is the main reason I bought this; finding their stories are a lot harder than finding Marple and Poirot stories. The clincher, however, was seeing that they somehow managed to include *Poirot and Marple stories I'd never heard of.* That's quite a feat, considering that I've been rabidly devouring Christie's books since the 7th grade and have at least *heard of* 95% of her output, including several non-mystery books of hers I own that she wrote under assumed names. It takes a lot to raise the brows of this die-hard Christie fan, but this book did it.

In case you've never heard of Pyne or Quinn, you should know that their stories aren't mysteries in the strictest sense of the word -- at least, not all the time. Parker Pyne runs an agency promising to make people happy. This ranges from setting up elaborate adventures for bored people, making love matches, and *sometimes* solving a mystery. Harley Quinn, meanwhile, is more of a spirit than an actual man and he comes around to right wrongs. I haven't finished all of his stories yet, so it's unclear to me what precise role he plays in the stories other than sort of guiding different characters to the truth.

The one complaint I have about it so far is the cover illustration -- or lack thereof. Amazon has no picture yet, but it's quite dull. All they do is take the title information and put it in a spiral with a little man in the middle, as if he's falling. It's a cheap effect, and fairly stupid. Would it have killed them to go old-school and give us a nice collage of bloody knives, smoking guns and sparkling jewels? I mean, you can google that stuff.

Anywho, here's a list of the stories given. They're grouped by detective in the book, so skipping to your favorites is simple. There are also introductions to Pyne and Quinn, written by Christie herself! They are compiled from different sources, which are given -- they certainly weren't written directly for this book!

Enjoy this! It's a great buy for die-hard fans like myself who can't rest until they own the complete Christie oeuvre, and makes a great gift for someone just starting out with Christie. Treat your friends or treat yourself, but find a copy today!

Parker Pyne:
1) The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife
2) The Case of the Discontented Soldier
3) The Case of the Distressed Lady
4) The Case of the Discontented Husband
5) The Case of the City Clerk
6) The Case of the Rich Woman
7) Have You Got Everything You Want?
8) The Gate of Baghdad
9) The House at Shiraz
10) The Pearl of Price
11) Death on the Nile <-- (No relation to the book of the same name!)
12) The Oracle at Delphi

Harley Quinn:
1) The Coming of Mr. Quinn
2) The Shadow on the Glass
3) At the Bells and Motley
4) The Sign in the Sky
5) The Soul of the Croupier
6) The World's End
7) The Voice in the Dark
8) The Face of Helen
9) The Dead Harlequin
10) The Bird with the the Broken Wing
11) The Man from the Sea
12) Harlequin's Lane
13) The Love Detectives

Hercule Poirot:
1) The Third-Floor Flat
2) The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
3) Four and Twenty Blackbirds
4) The Double Clue
5) Double Sin
6) Wasps' Nest
7) The Theft of the Royal Ruby
8) The Second Gong

Mrs. Marple:
1) Strange Jest
2) Tape-Measure Murder
3) The Case of the Perfect Maid
4) The Case of the Caretaker
5) Greenshaw's Folly
6) Sanctuary

Though three decades have passed since the great Agatha Christie past away, she remains one of the most beloved mystery writers of all time, second to none just about in popularity. Her novels and even her plays have been made into movies and TV shows that are usually well received. However, apparently Ms. Christie also wrote a ton of short stories all containing her fine twists, but not seen in one package before this superb anthology. The Detectives focuses on some of writer's better known sleuths ((Poirot (8 inquiries), Marple (6 tales), Pyne (12 cases) and Quin (13 investigations)) as each works in their unique style. Also included are Ms.Christie's introductions to Pyne and Quin. The tales show that besides novels and plays, Ms. Christie crafted miniature masterpieces. Fans of the author and anyone who enjoys cleverly written shorts will want to read this fine compilation. Perhaps a second collection can follow with some of her lesser known sleuths.

Harriet Klausner

I keep looking all the time for stories by Christie that I havent
read; a very hard thing to do. Sometimes I go back to some of
the older tales having forgotten the ending. You won't be able
to put this book down. There,s Miss Marple,the ever lovable little
Belgian(not French!) detective who uses his little gray cells to
solve most mysteries. Also Parker Pyne who puts ads in the newspaper
how he can help you solve your problems-are you lonely?, do you have
so much money you dont know what to do with it? Is your life dull and
you seek excitement? Parker Pyne can do it and at very reasonable
costs. Then there's Mr. Satterthwaite who travels the world helping
he meets on the way to solve their problems but not without the help
of Mr. Harley Quin, a man very hard to describe. He just seems to pop
up out of thin air when Mr. Satterthwaite needs him. In the tale on
World's End, at the end they are standing viewing the ocean and
Mr. Quin literally disappeared perhpas into another world.
My favorite tale in this book, one I had never read before was
Greenshaw's Folly, a horible looking very old house Mr. Greenshaw
had built leaving to his daughter. This is one story you actually
dont know if you,re coming or going. Absolutely one of Christie,s
best.

This was a great collection of my favorite authors writings; I enjoyed reading it immensely. I daresay, next year, I will enjoy the rereading of it as much.

The book was delivered quickly and in excellent condition. The stories are perfect for a cozy evening read.

I gave this book to my wife as a gift. She never put it down. She loved the short stories. She would read a story or two before going to bed. I would recommend this book.

How can you go wrong with anything written by Agatha Christie?? I loved all of the short stories - I wish there had been more of Poirot and Miss Marple - but I enjoyed meeting Parker Pyne. Amazon customer service and delivery OUTSTANDING as usual.

Agatha Christie's stories are fun, personable, & easy to read. I love all of her characters & have not read a "bad" one yet.

Excellent book. Thought I'd read all the Agatha Christies, but this book contained many stories that I had not seen.....especially ones about Harley Quin.